Maycee Barber bullies Katlyn Cerminara for sixth-straight win at UFC 299
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us tonight, March 9, 2024, for UFC 299, a 14-fight card going down from the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
Headlining the event is bantamweight championship rematch between Sean O’Malley (17-1, 1 NC) and the only man to ever defeat him, no. 5 ranked Marlon Vera (23-8-1).
Co-headlining the event is a lightweight encounter between no. 3 ranked former interim champion Dustin Poirier (29-8, 1 NC) and no. 11 ranked Benoit Saint-Denis (13-1, 1 NC).
Our UFC 299 preliminary co-main event of the evening came in the women’s flyweight division between no. 4 ranked Katlyn Cerminara (18-6) and no. 6 ranked Maycee Barber (14-2).
Cerminara, following split decision defeats to Liz Carmouche and Jessica Eye in her second and sixth promotional bouts, had only lost to the very best since, going 7-3 over her last 10 with defeats to Valentina Shevchenko (TKO) in their title fight, former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade (KO), and no. 3 ranked Manon Fiorot (UD) in her latest appearance.
Barber on the other hand, following a three-fight knockout streak to begin her promotional tenure, would go on to lose two-straight in 2020 and 2021, before her recent five-fight win streak showcasing victories over Miranda Maverick (SD), Montana De La Rosa (UD), Jessica Eye (UD), Andrea Lee (SD), and Amanda Ribas (TKO).
Continue reading to see how this flyweight encounter went down:
Official Result: Maycee Barber def. Katlyn Cerminara via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Barber bullied Cerminara around the octagon through much of the opening round, using a heavy-handed attack that continuously backed Cerminara up. Cerminara attempted to take Barber down but was unsuccessful with each attempt.
Cerminara started to find her range in the second, landing good straight punches as Barber is coming in attempting to close distance. Barber tied up with Cerminara and secured a takedown, Cerminara of which got right back to her feet. The two remain cliched along the fence, Barber doing the majority of the control, before securing another body lock trip in the final seconds of the middle stretch.
Barber controlled Cerminara along the fence for much of the third, securing two takedowns in the final five minutes as well. This was the best performance of Maycee Barber’s 16-fight career, and still at just 25 years of age, she’s going to continue getting better for several years to come.
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